Trivial Motivation
by InterfaceLeader
Summary: Someone's on a murder spree, and the Turks have been assigned to find out who, and stop them before they strike again.


****

Trivial Motivation

By InterfaceLeader

Misery and pain define my life! No one can understand the tragedies I have recently undergone. I am sick of this pain, the swelling of depression in my soul and the lack of understanding I suffer from. Does no one care for me, that I should be so ostracised? Is my horror at my own fate so far below everyone's mind they care not for me? Even he who I thought loved me, laughed at my justifiable sadness over my broken nail - not just broken, mind you, but literally torn in two, the jagged edge of the cuticle-

Reno closed the diary with great deliberation and threw it at the opposite wall. The effect was somewhat spoiled by the hardbound book bouncing back off and striking him squarely between the eyes. 

"OW!"

Tseng looked up with annoyance. The red head had been moaning consistently about his task, and it was beginning to grate. Tseng already had a headache from the "report" he had given to Heidegger earlier. Having to report no progress, no leads, and no clue to any leads was not something he enjoyed doing. 

"Read the diary's Reno. They're the only thing we have to go on."

"Why me!? The woman who wrote this is---is---" words failed him. Tseng was impressed; he'd never seen Reno at a loss for an insult before.

"Stop complaining and get on with it".

They're had been a rash of murders recently. To begin with they had all occurred in the slums, and no one in Shin-Ra cared. Then a few well-heeled snobs had died, in strange circumstances. And finally the current head of the space program, a man named Kersh, had "fallen" off the roof, his body landing on the roof of the President's car. The Turks had been called off their usual duties and given the task of finding - and eliminating - the threat. So far it had not been an easy task.

The murders that had occurred in the slums were all unified by the fact no one wanted to discuss them. A few interrogations later, it was shown no one knew anything about them other than the fact the victims were definitely dead. The upper-plate citizens had been more than willing to discuss their problems, but for all of the Turks patience they had found nothing useful amongst the complaints. 

The wife of Kersh had committed suicide by the time the Turks tried to find her. All that was left were her collection of 13 diary's meticulously detailing her life in over-blown, tragic language that numbed the brain. He'd given the task of reading them to Reno. He figured Reno didn't have much of a brain left to numb.

__

Today was shocking. I consider myself fairly unshockable after the trauma I've experienced in my life, but never was I so shocked as by the things this horrible shopkeeper said to me today. I went to buy some lipstick, and I asked for a deep mahogany red. He brought out a scarlet! "Do you think I'm a whore?" I asked him. And then I broke the lipstick, as a symbol of my anguish. To my disgust he started yelling at me, horrible insults in such filthy language! I fled in tears, and I hope my liquid filled eyes made a suitable impression on him, and made him feel so guilty he will never think of speaking to a lady like that again.

Blood was caked under her fingernails. She scrubbed at them energetically; the water in the bucket turning a pinkish colour as the blood swirled off her skin. 

"It's so pretty..." she watched the swirls affectionately for a moment. Then she stood, drying her hands on a corner of her blouse, and pulling on a pair of black gloves. 

The sniper rifle she had bought - in exchange for a fire materia - leaned up against one wall. She picked it up, and carefully went through the stages the man had explained to her. The safety was on. The gun was loaded. It had been freshly cleaned and oiled. The sight was clean. She picked it and the stand up, and gasped slightly at the weight. Then she shouldered the gun, and set off.

__

Mr. D----- is sooo nice. He used to be a soldier you know! You can tell, his bearing is so regal, and his manners impeccable. He treated me with a respect I have almost come to forget, being very concerned over my lack of a clean napkin, and fetching me a fresh one. I was absolutely delighted with his behaviour!

"Oh it's so _nice_ to have someone to talk to! And share luncheon with! Tell me, would you like some more cake? No? Oh well! I'll have it then!"

Rude watched the round man smear butter, and extra cream, on top of the chocolate gateau, then watched as he poured several packets of sugar on top of that. He felt his stomach contract slightly as the man devoured it with extreme gusto. Blobs of chocolate and cream showered the tabletop. Rude remained impassive, but inside he couldn't help a shudder.

"What's your name again? And why are you here? Not that I mind! It's nice to have someone to talk with!"

"..."

"Pardon?"

"...Rude... Your bodyguard."

"Oh yes! Because of the murders! I remember now!" Palmer celebrated his memory by consuming another slice of his gateau.

Rude hadn't been telling the whole truth of course. Palmer had been promoted after the death of Kersh. Because he had a possible motive, Tseng had ordered Rude to watch him. Which Rude had been doing. He had come to the conclusion that Palmer was the most insane, stupid, bumbling, greedy, fat idiot Rude had ever met. And that included Heidegger. "Luncheon" had lasted 3 hours so far. 

"So Rude! What do you do?"

Rude closed his eyes in exasperation. 

The sound of a gunshot and a scream.

Rude jumped to his feet. The scream had come from an office nearby. Without stopping, he leapt the table and dived out the door and along the corridor. Palmer stared after him with amazement. 

"Where's he off too so fast?"

Rude reached the office door just in time to hear another shot. He yanked the door open to see Reeve, the head of the City Development division, flat on the floor behind an overturned table. There was a bullet lodged in one wall, and Rude noted the blood on the floor near Reeve, and his torn and stained shirt. Glass littered the floor. 

He ran across the room, sliding down beside the window and taking a quick glance out. A risky manoeuvre, he provided a clear target, but it paid off, no bullet came. Looking out, he espied a tallish building nearby that was the only possible place the sniper could be. Ducking back down behind the window frame he took out his PHS and called through to Tseng. 

__

Mr D---- came again today, and looked at a few letters of complaint I had written. He complimented me on my handwriting, and my ability to stand up for myself! I told him that so much misery had been caused me by these people I simply HAD to complain, for the sake of other people more than my own. And then he said I was selfless! My heart beats hard within my breast... I cannot remember the last time I received a compliment of such magnitude. Well, today my husband told me I was pretty, but really! That's not a compliment, if you think about it.

The three Turks surveyed the roof carefully. Whoever had been here had long gone. An abandoned sniper rifle leaned against the guard-rail. No other traces.

"Why Reeve?" wondered Tseng aloud. The pleasant unassuming man had no enemy's, as far as he knew. And few people wanted his job; he worked far longer hours than the rest of the high-level Shin-Ra employees, and got paid far less. 

"I reckon it's a loon. Someone whose decided to kill as many people as they possibly can. Totally insane crazy person, running round laughing maniacally- or am I thinking of Scarlet here?" Reno grinned.

"There's no pattern. We've had a shopkeeper drowned in his bathtub. A girl whose head was beaten in by some kind of blunt instrument. A retired Soldier who was attacked with fire materia. A society lady whose throat was slit. Another shopkeeper who was poisoned. Kersh was pushed off a roof. And now Reeve's been shot at – there simply doesn't appear to be any kind of link."

"Maybe they're all unrelated. Maybe a few people got pissed off and took it out in whoever was nearby"

"Maybe." Tseng didn't appear convinced.

Reno looked round the rooftop. It was cold, but at least he wasn't reading those bloody diaries. He'd never met a more self-centred lady in his life. Whoever that "Mr D-----" was, he was a stupid fool, chatting her up. Reno wasn't the most picky person when it came to women, but this one did his nut in. He was thoroughly glad she had committed suicide before starting a 14th diary.

"Rude, I'm taking you off Palmer. I want you to talk to Reeve, find out if he had any enemies, or saw anything strange." Tseng turned to leave.

Reno hurried after him "You're asking him to talk to people? Make him read the diaries! I'll talk to Reeve!"

"Reno, last time I sent you to talk to someone, you talked about everything _except_ asking about the actual subject – at least Rude knows how to listen."

__

I went into a costume shop to inquire about material prices. I'm hoping to make a costume for myself for a party the Lady Johnson is throwing. The prices they asked were astronomical, all I wanted was a few yards of this lovely silky blue cloth, and some silver netting, but they charged me nearly 400 Gil! I told them what I thought of their prices, and the man there said if I didn't want it, not to buy it. I said I needed it, and that I was desperate, as I simply have to make an appearance that justifies my beauty and position in society – and he snorted! 

Reeve was sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, trying to fix some toy-cat thing. Rude crossed the room and stood next to him.

"Reeve."

Reeve didn't look up. "I can't help you Rude... I didn't get strange phone calls, no hate mail, I haven't broken up with anyone recently, and I haven't annoyed anyone. I've been trying to get the 6th Reactor up and working, I've pretty much been working non-stop. Sleeping at the office, that kinda thing. All I know is someone tried to shoot me for no reason."

"..."

"That's not what you wanna hear right? You want me to say, oh yeah, some guy phoned up, said his name was Harry and that he was going to kill me. That didn't happen. I can't help."

".... Did you know Kersh well?"

Reeve shrugged, his agile fingers fitting a microcircuit into place. "I knew him by name. I said hi when I saw him... that was about it."

Rude studied Reeve. He didn't think the guy would lie. 

"... Spoken to anyone recently?"

"Hmm... Nah, the last person I spoke to was the girl who owns the coffee shop across the road. I went across last night after work. Just bought a cup of coffee and left. Came back here actually. The President wants that reactor up and running very soon."

Rude considered the likelihood that the coffee girl was so incensed by her customer that she'd bought a sniper rifle and tried to shoot him. He decided that Reeve wasn't that bad a customer.

__

Oh GOD! I'm lying on my bed... I think I'm dying. The bastard-

Reno re-read the swearword. It was the first in the entries. He wondered what horrendous event led to her saying such an unladylike word? Maybe her cat scratched her furniture or something.

__

The bastard Deena, he tried- he tried- I can't write properly, the words don't come out right. I can't write what he did. I can't even think about it. I don't want to think about it. I'm going to kill him; I have to kill him.

Reno ran a finger under the name. 

"Hey, Tseng?"

"What?"

"What was the name of that retired soldier who got burned?"

"It was ... Harold Deena. Aged 42, retired because of-"

"OK, that's all I needed. Look at this entry. D'ya think she killed him? It's the last one---"

"Hmm, it's certainly possible. She was still alive at the time of his death. That doesn't explain the attack on Reeve though. Or the other murders."

"Reeve's could be unrelated – as for the others, she's complained about two shopkeepers, one tried to sell her scarlet lipstick—"

"You think someone was murdered over lipstick?" Tseng said sceptically. 

Reno frowned. "She does seem to have a screw loose. I mean, consistently going on about how bad these trivial little things are. I reckon whatever Deena did – probably tried to get in her pants – tipped her over the edge. She's in payback mode."

"She's also dead. She killed herself remember?"

Reno shrugged. "Maybe she faked her death, it's been done before."

The woman picked up her pen, smoothed out the paper, and started to write.

__

I tried to buy a coffee yesterday from a little shop, just across from the Shinra building. I was looking at the menu when this man came in and simply ignored me, walking up to the girl at the counter and buying a coffee. He smiled at her far too much. Men are all the same; their smiles precede horrors. I decided to protect her, and swapped the fire materia I had used on Deena for a sniper rifle. The person who sold it to me explained how it worked. I found out what office he worked at easily, simply asking at the front desk. But when I tried to kill him a big bald man interfered, and I was forced to flee. This bald man is evil, protecting the smiling man. I must kill them both.

She sucked the end of her pen, and tried to consider how best to do it. She had used many methods so far, and she needed a new one. The mystery/thriller books were always going on about destroying "patterns" and not getting known by using the same methods. A car bomb she thought delightedly. She was sure the bald man would have one of those big flashy sports cars that used to annoy her. She betted he was the kind that talked about it non-stop too. Like those horrible men who bored her to tears at parties. 

Rude and Reno used Rude's car to drive to Kersh's house. They were to investigate the "suicide" that had occurred there. They parked outside the building and headed inside. 

"She ODed right? And we couldn't find anyone who knew her well enough to identify her, so we just went by the note. I reckon it was a servant or somethin'. And she's been hiding out all this time, until Reeve upset her somehow - heh, can you imagine Reeve upsetting anyone? So she tried to snipe him, and failed miserably, maybe she broke a nail pulling the trigger or something - she probably freaked out over that-"

"..."

"Shut up when I'm talking! Anyway, I bet she's gonna go after Reeve again, which is why Tseng is staying with him, see, she failed the first time so-"

"......."

"Hmm? Yeah, you're right... this place is one helluva nice pad. Expensive furniture. I wonder if there's any jewellery left? Might be a good idea to – slip some away as evidence, yeah."

Rude rolled his eyes. Reno had never managed to fully shake off the opportunistic nature the slums had forged for him.

They split up to search the rooms, and it was Rude who discovered the 14th diary. Same handwriting, same style. He read the first entry, and noted it described the throat slitting of the society lady, namely Lady Johnson who had _thrown the worst costume party I've ever had the misfortune to be present at. She had the audacity to "trip" and "accidentally" spill some wine over my silken blue dress. Jealousy simply isn't a nice thing to see in a Lady._

"... Reno." 

Reno glanced at the diaries and suggested they headed back to the Shin-Ra HQ, so that Tseng could take a look. The two headed back out to the car, and Rude climbed in the driving seat.

Reno flipped to the back of the diary, wondering if any mention had been made about Reeve. He wanted to know what the poor guy had done. 

__

I tried to buy a coffee yesterday.... when this man came in and simply ignored me, walking up to the girl at the counter.... He smiled at her far too much. Men are all the same; their smiles precede horrors. I decided to protect her, and swapped the fire materia I had used on Deena for a sniper rifle

"Hey, she's a right weirdo. She tried to kill Reeve 'cause he smiled at some girl."

Rude shrugged, slamming the door of the car shut.

__

This bald man is evil, protecting the smiling man. I must kill them both..... I think a car bomb will work well, I have one with me now, and it is a different method to ones I have used before-

I can hear a car engine. When I looked out the window I saw the bald man and another man, a thin redhead, with an evil face.... 

Reno grimaced "I don't like her."

__

...in a car, coming towards me. I suspect they have come looking for me. I will take this opportunity. 

Rude turned the ignition key, just as Reno twigged as to what the sentence meant. Diving across his friend his hand yanked the car door open and the two sprawled out onto the pavement.

"Reno, what—"

The explosion blew most of the car into the air, sending flaming chunks of debris down on the two Turks, great chunks of metal that slammed into the pavement. Which shattered, it too sending debris flying. Reno's survival instincts kicked in, and he tried to burrow underneath Rude. Rude pushed him away, and waited until the last of the debris had fallen. He then sat up; looking at the flaming wreckage that had been a car.

"..."

"Shit! That little bitch tried to kill me! Us! She blew us up! She blew up your car!"

"..."

Rude stood up and looked around carefully. They had been in the house less than 10 minutes. An expert could set a bomb in 2 minutes, but he doubted she was that good. She couldn't be too far away. Out into the main street or up the alley? He would have gone into the main street, lose himself in the crowd. But amateurs usually headed away from people, trying to hide. He set off, up the alley.

"Hey! Where're you going?" Reno scrambled up and headed after him. 

"... She's not far away.... Check the main street."

Reno looked at him for a second, but the older man outranked him, and he decided to do as he was told. Turning round, he headed for the main street.

She heard the explosion in the distance, and slowed her footsteps. The evil bald man and his evil red-haired friend were both gone. They would not interfere with her anymore. Now she could make the smiling man pay. She stroked the shotgun through the thin material of her coat. It made a pleasant lump, a weight that was appropriate to the seriousness of his crime. She would make him pay.

She headed toward the tallest building in Midgar. 

Tseng stood at the window of Reeve's office looking out. A steel-grey sky pressed down on the city, it's dullness interspersed with patterns of greenish smoke that drifted up from the working reactors. Behind him, Reeve scratched away industriously at the plans for the next reactor. 

Knock knock.

Reeve looked up. "Come in?" He sounded confused. Tseng wondered how many visitors he normally got. Turning from the window, he watched as the door swung open and a medium height, average looking woman stepped into the room. She was wearing a dark grey coat that had oil streaked down one side, and grey trousers. 

"Um..." She looked at Tseng, clearly confused at seeing him there. 

"Can I help?" asked Reeve, looking as helpful as he knew how. Tseng again wondered why anyone would want to kill this man.

"I... needed to speak to you. Alone." She directed her words at Reeve, but Tseng noted the not-so-subtle-hint. He stayed where he was, looking at the woman, and willed Reeve not to order him out.

No such luck. "Tseng? Could you leave for a minute?"

"I don't think that would be wise sir."

"It won't take long." The woman smiled at him, and for some reason Tseng felt a prickle run down his spine. 

"Sir-"

"Please Tseng. I'll call you back as soon as we're done, I'm sure nothing will happen."

You're too nice Reeve. It'll be the death of you yet. Or maybe I'm just paranoid. But that's my job... Tseng left the room reluctantly, his thoughts remaining unspoken. 

Rude stood at the end of the alley, and sighed. Unless Reno had caught up with her, she was long gone. He had followed the alleys as best as he could, but there had been too many turnings off, and he admitted defeat.

He turned in the direction of the main Shin-Ra building, and started his way back.

Reno looked up and down the crowded street, realising that they didn't actually _know_ what she looked like. The futility of the action annoyed him, and when he espied a bar he toyed with the idea of simply ending the search and enjoying a few drinks instead. His nerves were still frayed after the goddamn explosion. He deserved a break. A long break.

I'm too gullible, Reeve decided, as the woman pulled out a shotgun and pointed it at his head. I am going to get myself killed, as Tseng kept telling me. Damn, damn, damn. 

"Listen, I don't know what your problem is, but I'm sure it can be sorted out reasonably and without violence." Reeve carefully raised his open hands, palms outwards. "See, I'm not going to try and fight you." Because I'd lose, a small voice in his head added. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Is the other man gone completely?" The woman kept her gun trained on his head. Reeve wished he'd finished building Cait Sith. He could have distracted her. As it was, the robot-cat sat perched on the cupboard behind the woman, completely unmoving.

"Well, I imagine he's just outside." Reeve tried another tactic "He'll hear the shot and come running in and kill you. He's very good at that. Killing I mean." He's innate honesty came to undo the threat "Except that the rooms soundproof, of course". Reeve decided his brain was stupid. 

The woman raised an eyebrow, and then indicated towards the empty plastic coffee cups, each one stamped with the name of the shop just across the road. 

"I will make you pay for this."

Reeve stared at her.

"You... uh... you don't like coffee?"

Tseng paced the corridor in front of Reeves door. Sixty-seven seconds. Too long. He was worried. Though the likelihood of her actually being the killer was slim, it was a chance he didn't want to take. He opened the office door.

Reeve saw the door opening before the woman did, and threw himself under the desk, for the second time that day. The shotgun went off, and blew a hole in the wall dividing his office from Scarlet's. Under his desk he couldn't see a lot. He saw Tseng's feet enter the room, fast. He heard the shotgun go off a second time, a grunt of pain, saw Tseng stopping suddenly, blood arcing across the floor. The woman's feet staggered back a few paces. Tseng suddenly moved toward the woman, blood still spilling. There was a solid _thunk_ of what he assumed was Tseng's attack. The woman cried out. The two sets of feet moved fast, Tseng's taking him in close. Reeve heard a sickening crack, the woman wailed, and the shotgun thudded to the floor. She tried kicking him; Reeve saw one foot pulled from the floor and up. There was another _thunk_ and suddenly the woman fell to the floor, her head striking the chair on the way down. It didn't knock her out though. She rolled away from Tseng, pulling herself back up, and grabbing the chair. 

Crash! Tseng's turn to stagger back, as the chair smashed into him. The woman dived toward the door. Reeve saw the door swing open, and then Tseng's legs bent, his hand caught up the shotgun, and Reeve heard a third – and final – shot. The woman spilled forward, halfway across the threshold. The door tried to swing closed and thumped into her side. Blood ran across the floor. 

"Are you alright sir?"

Reeve climbed out from under the desk, somewhat shaken. Tseng automatically helped him up, ignoring the blood that was making a spreading stain across his shirt. A shotgun wound, he thought, which means a Cure 2 spell. 

Reeve looked across at the woman. "Who was she?" 

"Someone with an extremely self-centred view of life. Are you alright sir?"

"I'm fine – you're not. Let me get you to the hospital wing. I wonder where Scarlet is?"

They both glanced toward the room where Scarlet was supposed to be.

"I don't know, but she's not going to be happy when she sees her wall."

Reno chugged another beer happily. He could feel the shock lessening already. Another couple and he'd be ready to go back. Maybe more than a couple. Say four. Or five. He'd already had four mind you, so he might as well make it a round number and drink six.

Rude cursed under his breath as he saw the Shin-Ra building looming up over him from behind two rows of houses. He'd tried every way he could think of, and he hadn't been able to figure out how to actually reach the building. 

Maybe that alley over there....? He headed down it, only to be met by a blank brick wall. Dead-end. Damn.

****

The End


End file.
